General Surgery Coding Alert

Timing is everything for coding accuracy.Waiting for the pathologist to measure an excised lesion could cost your surgeon plenty. But not waiting for the pathology report could saddle the patient with a misdiagnosis. Use these tips to ensure correct diagnosis -- and maximize pay.Rule # 1 -- Measure FirstYou should select the appropriate lesion excision size code based on the surgeon's report. "If the surgeon doesn't measure the lesion before he cuts it out, he's cutting his reimbursement in half," says John F. Bishop, PA-C, CPC, MS, CWS, president of Tampa, Fla.-based Bishop and Associates.Once the specimen is in the jar, the specimen shrinks down to half its original size, Bishop says. If the surgeon doesn't put the original size in the note, the coder has to code based on the smaller excision size listed in the pathology report. "That will cost the practice a lot of money," he points out.CPT's excision [...]